In the field of movable seating, chair structures may be designed to be attached side-to-side during use, and may be stackable for storage. It is a preference in the field that the chair structures be easily connectable and disconnectable in side-by-side relationships (i.e. ganged), and the chair structures be stackable when disconnected for ease of movement from one location to another for use, and for storage.
Typical of the art are those devices disclosed in the following U.S. Patents. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,827,749, to Johnson et al., a chair structure is disclosed that may be stacked vertically, and may be connectable side-by-side, with a right-side leg member of a first chair resting below and in contact with a left-side leg member of a second chair. The left side leg of each chair includes a keeper member mounted on an exterior side of the upper portion of each left leg in the form of a vertical flange that engages the leg member of the adjacent chair to allow horizontal ganging of like chair structures. The ganging components of adjacent like chair structures are bulky leg members having rectangular cross-sections.
In U.S. Pat. No. Des. 279,438, to Gerner, an ornamental design is disclosed for a tubular chair having inverted U-shaped leg members and seat and back side frame members connected to the tubular chair frame. The design patent does not disclose whether the tubular chair is stackable or connectable in a gang horizontal orientation with like chair structures.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved chair structure that, when stacked vertically, forms a sturdy and easily movable stack of chairs, and when unstacked and connected to similar chair structures, forms a space-efficient assembly of chairs in ganged horizontal orientation which are easily connectable and disconnectable.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a chair that is stackable in a generally vertical direction upon other chairs with similar structure.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a chair structure that is connectable side-by-side in a horizontal direction with other chairs with similar structure.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a ganging chair structure having a leg structure that is connectable with an opposite leg of a chair of similar structure to provide a row of chairs that are space efficient and firmly attached to each other.